


i never thought they'd get me here

by bi-tlejuice (bi_tlejuice)



Series: adventures of lydia deetz and the b-man [9]
Category: Beetlejuice (Beetlejuice) - Fandom, Beetlejuice - All Media Types, Beetlejuice - Perfect/Brown & King
Genre: Consent Issues, Heavy Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Multi, Read A/N for in detail warning, beetlands, goldenrat, if only i was less mean to him, not part of my series' storyline! this is a standalone, poor beej
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-26
Updated: 2020-04-26
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:47:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23857822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bi_tlejuice/pseuds/bi-tlejuice
Summary: "Uh, that's why people have born-dead kids. Like, to make a bit of money." The noise Barbara makes is unlike anything he's ever heard before and Adam's hand comes to his face where his eyes are starting to water. "No, it's totally normal, I swear. We get rented out until we're adults, and then we leave home and get to do whatever we want."it's normal. right?
Relationships: Beetlejuice/Adam Maitland/Barbara Maitland
Series: adventures of lydia deetz and the b-man [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1690348
Comments: 20
Kudos: 287





	i never thought they'd get me here

**Author's Note:**

> PLEASE READ
> 
> hi! first, i want to thank @put-a-lil-alright-in-the-world on tumblr for writing the post that inspired this fic! i'll put a link at the end so go and check out their tumblr! second, i want to make it clear that even though i've put this in the same series as my other bj fics, i don't consider it to be part of the same storyline at ALL.
> 
> a heads-up: this fic makes explicit reference to past non-consentual situations and also features a HUGE amount of self-blame for these situations which is very unhealthy
> 
> hope you enjoy!

"Hello, _boys,_ " Barbara says from the attic doorway. Beetlejuice tries to pretend that this doesn't make his stomach drop, because he knows that voice. If he's being honest, he couldn't be any _further_ from being in the mood - Lydia shouted at him earlier for something that he doesn't understand, and he's spent the whole evening waiting for someone to explain to him what he's done wrong. Only, she's in her bedroom with her door locked and nobody's told Adam or Barbara that they argued, so he's been curled up in bed with Adam trying to ignore the burning pit of anxiety in his stomach. His plan was to _try_ and fall asleep and just get really drunk if he couldn't sleep. Sex was not on the table, it wasn't anywhere _near_ the table, but apparently Barbara is in the mood. 

"Hello yourself," Adam says, winking and probably trying to be sultry but just looking quite cute. Beetlejuice doesn't say anything, just bites his lip as Adam bookmarks his page and puts the book down on the bedstand. It's okay. These guys are nice, they care about him - it's not like they're going to hurt him if they work out he isn't in to it. "It's like that, is it?" he hums. Barbara's taken off her dress without him even realising, not able to hear the fabric hit the floor over the pounding in his ears. _Come on_ , he tells himself, trying to steel the unease in his stomach. _It could be a lot worse. At least you actually like these guys._

"Come here," she murmurs, and Beetlejuice obeys, trying really, really hard to look her in the eyes. She's kissing him before he knows what to do, and it doesn't feel right at _all_ but he tries his best, gripping her waist like he knows she likes. Clearly it's not good enough; she pulls away after a few seconds, stroking his cheek. "You okay, sweetheart? Not in the mood?"

"'Course I am," he lies, plastering a grin on his face. _Try harder. All you have to do is make it good for them and then it'll be over._ When Barbara kisses him again, Adam's hands snake around to the tie of his sweatpants and he feels kind of sick. The pounding in his ears increases tenfold when Adam gropes at him through the cloth, nails tightening on Barbara's waist. Thankfully, she seems to enjoy this. Adam's mouth is on his neck, warm and soft and _wrong_ and he didn't realise how much harder it was to pretend with _two_ people, but there's so much riding on this that he can't bear to back down. In the Netherworld it was only like, physical pain, but if he fucks this up with the Maitlands then they aren't going to want to be with him anymore. 

They've changed _everything_ for him, and in general he's never been so happy, so he can do this for them. He owes them that much. Forcing a groan as Adam's hand slips in to his boxers, he silently wills his hands to stop shaking. He's supposed to be good at faking this shit.

"Beej," Adam says, voice quiet and hands still. "You aren't enjoying this."

Barbara's leaning back as well, sitting on her knees and searching his face. "I am," he insists, feeling something twist painfully in his chest when she doesn't look convinced. "I am, I promise- we can keep going, don't be mad-"

"Beetlejuice," Barbara cuts in, and her tone is enough to make him stop rambling. "You're crying."

When he touches his face it's wet and he can't help his eyes start to blur as Barbara carries on looking at him like _that_. Trust him to ruin everything with the only two people he's actually cared about. "It's fine," he tries to say, but his voice is cracking apart along with the image and it's over. "Fuck," he whispers, trying not to break completely. "Fuck, fuck-"

"Hey, hey- it's okay," Adam murmurs from behind him, reaching out to touch his shoulder.

Beetlejuice doesn't _mean_ to flinch away, doesn't mean to yell but his body does it for him. "No- no, I didn't- I didn't mean to- you _can,_ you-" 

He's ruined everything.

"What we're going to do is take a big, deep breath, okay?" Barbara instructs, and he's at a loss of what else he can do so he listens. "Breathe in for seven seconds, hold it for four and then breathe out- don't worry, just copy my breathing. Like this, okay?" she says, and he can't _hear_ her breathing because she's not breathing but he can kind of see the rise and fall of her chest. She starts holding fingers out to count in time to and he actually starts calming down, starts becoming aware of the way his nails have dug into his bleeding palms. 

"Sorry," he manages to choke out, wiping his face with his sleeve. Fuck. "We can carry on now."

"Beej, we- maybe we should lie down?" Adam suggests from where he's still sat behind him, and his head starts spinning again. They've given up, which means he's _failed_.

"No- I mean it, we can-"

"We don't want to have sex with you if you don't want to have sex with us."

"No, you don't get it, I am good at it I just need-"

" _Stop,_ " Adam says, shifting so they're now both sat in front of him. "Beej, what- we don't want to have sex with you if you don't want to for _you_ , not for us." 

Beetlejuice blinks at them, waiting for the break-up or punishment he knows is coming. When they both carry on staring at him, he figures he may as well try and work out what's going on. "I... don't get it."

Adam frowns, running a hand through his hair. "Well- would you try and have sex with us if you could tell we didn't want to?"

"No- fucking hell, no. I'm _not_ like that, you know that- I know, when we met, it was a bit iffy. But I looked at all that stuff about consent you wanted me to do, I would _never_ force you to do anything if I didn't think you wanted to."

"How is it different here, then?"

"You're not supposed to be able to _tell_ if I don't want it- I'm really sorry. I meant it, we can go again if you want, and I'll get better at pretending. I just haven't done anything like this in like, super long."

The couple stare at him with similar expressions, but he's never really been good at working out what that stuff means. Maybe disgust? "Beetlejuice," Barbara says after thirty seconds of silence, "What the fuck?"

Adam seems to sense that this is not something he wanted to hear and leans forward, placing a hand on Barbara's knee and squeezing gently. "What Barb _means_ is, uh- we don't quite understand why you think the rules are different for you. With consent, I mean." 

"Uh. I'm born-dead, remember?" he says. Isn't this stuff supposed to be obvious? "Oh- shit, you guys haven't ever lived in the Netherworld. Okay, this makes sense now. Basically, we're at like, the bottom of the pecking order. All the whores and prostitutes and that are normally born-dead. So, it's like a rule, right? We're meant to like, always want sex. So when someone tries, you just gotta go with it," he starts, feeling himself relax slightly. It's okay, they just didn't know. That means he didn't really do anything wrong. "Thing is, there's a lot of- uh, _characters_ in the Netherworld, and they can get pretty violent. I know, I'm already dead so like, I shouldn't care, but- it's just easier to go along with it. I like having my face intact, y'know?" 

"Is this something- like, are you taught this in school? Does everyone just know this?"

"I dunno, I didn't go to school. 's just what mom always told me." They're both now staring at him as if something has clicked in to place.

When Barbara finally, _finally_ speaks, her voice is hollow and cold and it makes him want to cry because he doesn't understand what he's doing wrong. "Beej," and it's nearly a whisper. "How- why did she need to tell you this?"

Again, he'd kind of thought this was supposed to be common knowledge - he could have _sworn_ it was somewhere in the Handbook, but he hasn't ever properly read it - but here they are anyway. "Uh, that's why people have born-dead kids. Like, to make a bit of money." The noise Barbara makes is unlike anything he's ever heard before and Adam's hand comes to his face where his eyes are starting to water. "No, it's totally normal, I swear. We get rented out until we're adults, and then we leave home and get to do whatever we want." It _has_ to be right, because it's been the truth for as long as he's been alive, but the look on their faces are making the words taste sour in his mouth. "It's normal," he repeats, because someone needs to tell him that's true. "Right?" Neither of them say anything, and he knows this expression. They look horrified. " _Right?_ "

"I don't know what to say," Adam chokes out, eyes red and lip trembling. "Beej, I-"

"Did I do something wrong?"

This seems to kick Barbara in to motion, at least. "Beej- no, sweetheart. I _promise_ you didn't," she says, and he believes her. You can't lie when you're promising something. "What you've just told us is- it's a lot, and I think we need some time to process it before we talk about it."

"I don't really get why it's a big deal, but sure," he shrugs, willing to accept this if it means they aren't mad at him. Adam still hasn't moved from where he's kneeling to the left, tears steadily dripping down his chin. "Adam, dude, I don't-"

"Would you be a dear and go and get me a Kit-Kat from the fridge before bed?" Barbara cuts in, and he doesn't really know what else he can do so he nods.

Not wanting to risk running in to Lydia, he just drops through the floors until he's there, accidentally landing with a foot in the empty fruit bowl. How _weird_? What the fuck is up with Adam, crying all randomly like that? He was really certain that he'd just said something wrong, but Barbara wouldn't have promised him like that if it wasn't true. 

"Hey," Lydia says from where he didn't see her on the sofa. "Before you get all grumpy, I wanna say sorry I yelled at you. I was really freaked about this school thing, and have you been _crying_?"

" _No_ ," he says automatically, though he's pretty sure he's a breath away from still crying. "It's fine. Thanks. Just, uh, for reference, what'd I do wrong?"

"I really needed to focus on a school thing and you were not letting me do that. But shouting is bad. I don't like it when people yell, so. Sorry," she's saying, and there's no eye contact when she comes over but she's hugging him anyway. Shock and panic and all the other gross stuff is still floating around, but it's simple and it's nice so he hugs her back. Maybe she thinks she's the reason he's crying? "I need to go to bed," she says, stepping back. "I made you this. Uh, night." With that, she's gone, and when he opens his palm there's a foldy-paper (or-i-gam-i, he thinks he remembers her calling it) beetle in his hand. If this makes him smile like a fool, well, there's nobody around to see it. 

Right, the Kit-Kat. What a weird time for a snack. At least the Lydia thing is sorted - now he just has to deal with whatever the fuck is going on with the Maitlands.

When he comes back to the attic, Barbara is lying on her side of the bed staring blankly up at the ceiling. Adam isn't there at all. "Uh," he says, suddenly feeling out of place where he's felt comfortable for months. "Kit-Kat delivery?" She sits up, her smile small but seeming genuine. "Where's A-dog?"

"Adam is, uh," she sighs, patting the bed next to her. "Come lie down, honey." When he doesn't move, she moves closer to the end of the bed, patting it again. "I promise it's okay, nobody is mad." Hesitantly, he walks over to the bed, sitting down on Adam's side but not letting himself relax. "What you told us earlier is, um. It's not. In the breathing world, nothing like that happens- or, when it does, it's considered very, very wrong and against the law. So Adam is having a hard time accepting that your mom did something like that to you. We both are, because we care about you."

"But you're still here."

"Adam is a bit worse at keeping a lid on his emotions than I am," she says with a soft smile, and this calms him down fractionally because it's true. Adam's always been the one who cries at movies or when Lydia calls him a father figure. "I don't think he wants you to see him upset." 

"I don't care," he forces himself to say. "I don't wanna talk about it, I just want him to be here." It's gross and sappy and once the words are in the room he wants to take them back, having already been vulnerable enough today. He can't, though, so he's left searching Barbara's face trying to work out why she looks so sad. 

"Okay," she finally says, nearly a whisper. "He's on the roof. If he doesn't want to come inside, you have to respect that, okay?"

Before she can say anything else he's already on the roof, staring down at where Adam is sat on the very edge, knees hugged close to his chest. "Come inside," he says, hoping Adam can hear the underlying _please please I need you please come inside._ When he speaks Adam jumps, only turning around after a few moments of silence have passed. He's been crying, which Beetlejuice knew, but there's something else there that doesn't make any sense. Anger, except Barbara _promised_ nobody was mad at him but clearly he is, and Beetlejuice doesn't know what to do because people are mad at him all the time but this time he doesn't know what he's done wrong. "Adam," he pleads, ignoring the way his voice breaks.

"Beetlejuice," is all he manages to say back, though at least he's looking at him now. "I- I don't-"

"I don't get what's wrong, like, at _all_. I don't wanna talk about it. I just wanna go to bed, and when we go to bed you're supposed to be there."

Slowly, Adam gets to his feet. He looks- well, he looks like a whole mix of things that Beetlejuice doesn't really get, but mostly he looks tired. "We have to talk about this tomorrow," he sighs, almost as if he doesn't want to. Why they have to when it seems like nobody wants to is beyond him. When they sink back through the roof, Barbara is waiting for them in bed. He doesn't hesitate this time, immediately curling up in to her side and only relaxing when she starts carding her fingers through his hair. For a moment, he thinks Adam is gone again, but there's a hushed whisper and he feels the mattress dip on the other side. 

Unusually, Adam makes no move to actually touch him; their shoulders brush when he lies down but when Beetlejuice rolls over he's lying facing the wall instead of him and Barbara. Desperately he wants to- to hold him, even though that's romantic gross shit he told himself he would never think. Besides, does Adam even want that right now? He'd ask Barbara, but he's kind of not very good at whispering. "Adam," he says, with absolutely no plan as to what to say next. "Uh. Are you lying like that 'cause you wanna be little spoon?"

Adam chuckles softly in to his pillow, tired and sad but still real. "Yeah." The word has barely left his mouth before Beetlejuice is clinging on to him like his life depends on it, burying his face in the crook of his shoulder. Barbara's soon up behind him, a solid weight pressed comfortably against his back.

He doesn't sleep, but it's good enough.

-

Beetlejuice manages to slink out of bed unnoticed as soon as the sun comes up so he's the first in the kitchen, meaning he's sat staring into his coffee when Charles gets up to make himself and Delia breakfast. It's his fault for not expecting it, for being so on edge after last night - when Charles says good morning and cuffs him on the shoulder like he always does, Beetlejuice finds himself flinching, his body cowering away without his permission as if to say _danger._

Shit. He's already on the path of like, ruining everything with the Maitlands, and now there's this. It's so _embarassing_ , he's waiting for Charles to start ripping in to him and telling him to _man up,_ to just _take it,_ but instead he's saying, "Oh, didn't mean to scare you. I'll say good morning first next time, alright?" with an easy smile. 

Beetlejuice's mind short-circuits. "Sorry I- wait. What?"

"Well, if I say it first then you'll know I'm there. Oh- unless, do you want me to stop doing that? Delia's always at me with all these things about boundaries but I'm still learning to keep track of it."

"No, I-" is all he manages to say, because what? "You're not- like, is that fine?"

"Hm?" Charles says, busying himself with cracking some eggs in to the pan. "Yes. Delia hates being uh, hugged from behind if she doesn't know I'm coming- she _always_ yells _._ I guess it's quite normal."

"Huh," Beetlejuice agrees from the table, as if his head isn't exploding. Unsure of pretty much anything, he sits there in silence whilst Charles carries on frying things and humming Ave Marie to himself. "Does Delia know a lot about this boundaries shit, then?"

"She takes it very seriously, I would say." Suddenly, there's a plate of eggs and bacon sat in front of him - at first he's sure it's Delia's and this is how he's being told to move, but then two plates are placed to the left of him. "Eat up." Charles' voice is doing that thing where it goes all low and weird like when Beetlejuice accidentally called him dad (which Lydia has _never_ let him forget,) but he smiles when Beetlejuice starts shoveling scrambled egg into his mouth. 

Delia only gets out of bed as they're both finishing their plate, wearing one of her ridiculous silk robes and smelling too strongly of the smoky stick she always burns in the morning. Charles kisses her goodbye and goes to work (this makes him think about Adam and Barbara and makes him sad) and then he's left sat with her.

"So," he says, and the pit is back in his stomach. "Chuck said you knew a thing or two about boundaries."

"Um. Yes! I went through training to be a counsellor when I was becoming a life coach, and being able to establish boundaries is a very important personal goal in being happy." Beetlejuice doesn't really know what any of this means. "Why?"

"I don't really, like. Uh. Fuck, I dunno, I guess I don't really 'get' the idea of it." She stares at him blankly as if he's just grown another head. "Like, who gets to have them? And what they are?"

"Everyone _has_ boundaries; it's just what you're comfortable with. What's important is having the _empowerment_ to enforce them." Clearly, the look he's conveying her is communicating that he doesn't understand. "Okay, we'll try something a bit more practical. Let's use hugs as an example! Most people have some kind of boundary surrounding physical contact, but each person is comfortable with different things. Barbara, for example, would be uncomfortable if some rando hugged her, but with any of us she loves hugs. Lydia does _not_ like hugs very often even with us. Does that make sense?" Delia actually waits for him to nod before carrying on. "So everyone has different feelings and boundaries about things, right? Some people just aren't confident enough to _enforce_ them - for example, someone might let someone hug them even if they are uncomfortable, because they don't want to seem rude."

"This is wild stuff, D. You sound super professional. So, uh. What about sex?"

"That's even _more_ important! You should always establish what you are and aren't comfortable with _before_ engaging in any sexual activity."

"But what if it's not like that? What- uh, hypothetically speaking, obviously. What if it's like, there's nothing _wrong,_ you're just- I mean, the _person_ is just not in the mood even though they're supposed to be-"

"Did the Maitlands pressure you in to having sex with them?"

So we're just coming _right_ out with that question, then? "No- _no_. Are you kidding? I could lift them both up with one arm."

"Pressuring someone into something isn't the same as force, Beetlejuice."

"Uh. I don't follow."

"Making someone feel like they have to have sex with you when they don't want to is still not okay, Beej. Did that happen?"

"No- jeez, Delia. It's the Maitlands, they're the opposite of that kinda shit. It's more like- what if you're _supposed_ to be into it and normally you're really good at like, pretending or whatever but it's like, different 'cause you actually care about them?" There's a pause, and he sinks his head into his hands and groans. "Fuck. _Fuck_. I don't know, okay? I dunno how to talk to people about important shit other than Lydia but I _can't_ talk to her about this 'cause she's like, a baby, and-"

"Beetlejuice," Delia says, voice still soft and calm. "Sometimes it's easier to explain stuff while you're doing something else at the same time. Do you want to help me in the garden?"

Honestly? No. He wants to curl up underneath Lydia's bed and wait for her to come back from school so he they can play Mario Kart and pretend nothing is wrong. But apparently that's not how it works in the real world, and he can hear the stairs creaking as if one of the Maitlands is coming downstairs, so he nods. Maybe he can't completely avoid the problem but he _can_ avoid them, so he agrees.

It's not hard, in fairness - all she wants him to do is help her cut the dead rose heads off the rose bushes, which is probably therapeutic in itself. And, when she says, "So, what did you mean earlier?" it is easier to respond because the pressure of her _looking_ at him isn't there.

"I'm born-dead, right? Everyone knows born-deads are for sex, so like, we're _always_ supposed to be in to it."

Delia pauses in her own rose-bush preening. "So that's just normal in the Netherworld? Everyone thinks that?"

"Yeah?" he says, but he's second-guessing it even as he's saying it. "I mean. I never really met any other born-deads. My mom just- no, it's gotta be normal. She wouldn't've done that if it wasn't normal." His hand slips and he cuts one of the living roses off. "I, uh- maybe I should call Maria."

Beetlejuice never saw Delia like- in whatever light this is. One where he _wants_ to go back and talk to her, where he trusts what she's saying even though it goes against everything he's believed for like, actually hundreds of years. That's why, when Maria says _BJ, what the undead fuck are you on about_ and he hangs up because he doesn't know how to respond, he goes back to her. He feels guilty that they're in the garden, the only place the Maitlands can't come, but he's also secretly kind of glad because he has no idea how to face either of them.

"My mom was lying," he manages to say. "I think I'm gonna be sick."

Delia rubs his back softly as he vomits over the garden wall (which is _such_ a problem for the neighbours but thankfully not really an issue for them.) "Alright, sweetie," she's saying to him but he can't even really hear it. She lied? This whole time he didn't have to do that? Was he just _letting_ people violate him? "Hey," she whispers, not too loud and repeating it until he can properly hear it. "It's okay, I promise. Just- just keep taking deep breaths, alright?"

Beetlejuice tries, remembering to breathe in for seven and hold it for four like Barbara taught him yesterday. Memories are hurtling through his mind at 100 miles an hour and he doesn't want to think about any of them at all. "All this time- all this time she's always been- been like, an asshole, I guess, but I never-" he pauses to swallow, kind of wanting to vomit again but knowing there's nothing left in his stomach. "How could she do that to me?"

For a moment, Delia doesn't say anything. Probably because there isn't an answer to that question, no matter how much he wants one. "Do you want a hug?"

It's weird, he's never hugged Delia before - he doesn't think they've even sat next to each other on the couch before, but when he's clinging on to her he feels really, actually safe. There's no unpredictability here, no relationship expectations, just someone who seems to really care about him. He doesn't realise he's crying until she squeezes him tighter. "Should we go inside? I'll make you a nice warm cup of cocoa?"

"Adam and Barbara are inside." Delia pulls back, tries to look at him but doesn't seem to mind when he carries on staring at the grass. "I don't- I dunno how to talk to them."

Delia sighs, leaning closer to him and starting to stroke his head in the same way she does to Lydia when she falls asleep on the sofa. "It's okay to not know how. I think you need to, and I think they will also want to, but if you're really not feeling up to it then they won't force you to do it right this second. We, uh- why don't we go and watch something on TV?"

When she gives him the remote, he puts on Adam's stupid shitty science show. It's not good, but it's familiar and predictable, and the guy who does the voiceover speaks softly enough that he feels kind of relaxed. Delia lays a blanket over him before putting the cocoa down on the coffee table, but he's pretty sure he only has a few mouthfuls before he falls asleep. 

-

_When he comes to, the first thing he realises is that his shorts are ripped **again**. Hopefully his mom doesn't notice, or she'll probably be really angry that he didn't stay awake. There's blood leaking down the inside, too, but that's not really a big deal. As long as he can sew the hole before tomorrow morning, it should be-_

_" **Beetlejuice!** " echoes down the hallway. Oh no. Part of him wants to run and hide, to slip under his bed where she can't see, but he knows she'll find him. Besides, his legs burn when he tries to stand up. So he waits, hiding the shorts behind his back, until she finally appears at his doorway. "Did you fucking fall **asleep**?" She doesn't stop at his doorway, striding in to his bedroom and reaching out a hand for him. He's quick but she's quicker, and her cane is at his cheek before he realises. "Don't be ridiculous or I'll give you something to cry about." _

_He's not crying, not really, it just kind of hurts so much to move that getting up suddenly made his eyes water. Beetlejuice isn't about to try and explain this, though, so he wipes his nose with his sleeves and stays staring up at her. "I didn't."_

_"Don't lie, you little shit. You think I can afford for you to fall asleep? You're supposed to be good at this. Now he wants to come back again this afternoon, and you **must** stay awake."_

_Little stabs of panic tighten in his chest. "Today? Not today."_

_The cane smacks in to his chin. "Yes, today. In two or three hours, I think."_

_"But- Mom, I'm too sore, please-" he barely manages to choke out before she's lifting him by the collar of his shirt, and it's so rare that she would actually touch him that he stops talking all together._

_"He is coming back, and you are going to be the best he's ever had."_

Beetlejuice wakes up with a jump, in a cold sweat with his hands shaking. Fuck. He's never had one of those dreams before- or, maybe he has, but never in that _light_. When they've surfaced, it's been much more hazy, but that was crystal clear and felt so disgustingly wrong that he doesn't know how he's ever going to look at himself in the mirror ever again. How could he just _let_ that happen to himself? The memory may have been from when he was very young, before he really knew what it was that was happening, but he knows it went on longer than that. Much longer.

"Beej," Lydia says, from where she's cross-legged on the other side of the sofa. "What's wrong."

"Nothing," he tries to say with a scowl, but it comes out all tired and pathetic.

"Your hair is like, sickly brown. It's never done that before." He blinks at her, because it has done that before, just never in front of her. People asked Juno for the kid with yellow hair. "Delia said you were going through something."

"Did she say what?"

Lydia shifts incrementally closer to him. "No. I made muffins after school with Barbara. I decorated one for you, if you want it." 

The idea of eating makes him feel sick until he sees the muffin in its wrapper on the table, iced white with wobbly black stripes. "Awesome," he says, actually meaning the smile he gives her. "Can I eat it now?" Lydia leans forward and passes it to him, and if she sits back a lot closer, neither of them say a word about it. "So, uh," he says, definitely not dropping crumbs onto the blanket. "Where's Babs now?"

"Upstairs, I guess. We're gonna get takeaway for dinner when Dad gets home 'cause they don't feel like cooking." That's his fault, then. "I thought you liked takeaway? Why's your face doing that?"

"I do, I like eating the boxes it comes in," he insists, because polystyrene has a nice soft crunch to it. She's still giving him that _look,_ though, and he crumbles after a few seconds. "Fine. I need to have like, a super serious conversation with them, and like. I don't wanna."

"Why."

"It's- fuck, like. It's about something I dunno how to talk about. And like, they might be mad at me, maybe? I don't really get it."

"Do you wanna tell me what it is?" Lydia's tone is inquisitive, but still quiet and not pushy, in the way where he doesn't feel bad for not wanting to.

"Nah. It's too complicated and gross for a youngling." 

She elbows him, but not too hard. "If it makes you feel better, I'm like, certain they're not mad. Barbara seemed like. I dunno, tired, but she was glad you were sleeping. If I was mad at you and you were sleeping on the couch, I wouldn't be glad. I'd be disturbing your sleep." He can't help but kind of grin at this. Lydia is such a fiend. 

"Hey, BJ," Adam says from the stairs. He's wearing one of his old t-shirts from when he was a camp counsellor, slightly too big and faded - Beetlejuice knows it, because he wears it to bed a lot. Knows how soft it is, how it never clings to the strong laundry scent that he hates and always just smells like Adam. "Would you, um. Could you help me upstairs a second?" 

Behind the arm of the sofa where Adam can't see, Lydia reaches and squeezes his hand. Only after that does he manage to say, "Sure." 

-

Following Adam up to the attic is not fun in any way, shape or form. It's almost worse than just appearing in the attic and throwing himself headfirst in to the conversation - with every step he takes up the two sets of stairs, his chest feels like it's sinking further into his stomach. When they finally make it upstairs, Barbara is sat cross-legged on the floor, also wearing one of Adam's t-shirts with a whiteboard and pen in front of her. This is not... _quite_ how he was expecting it to turn out. 

"This is hard, and none of us really know how to talk about it," Barbara prefaces, sounding not mad and warm. Hesitantly, Beetlejuice sits down opposite her as Adam sits by her side. "So, I thought this might be helpful. We can all come up with some rules to guide the conversation and- um, so we can make sure it is beneficial for everyone."

Beetlejuice eyes the whiteboard. He's not very good at writing on them - they're too slippery. "Like what?"

"I'll write the first one," she says, pausing to write something in neat, bubbly print. "At any time, anyone can ask for a time-out. That's a small break where we all take a breather, maybe have a cup of tea, y'know?" she suggests, smiling when he nods. "Any other suggestions?"

"What if, uh. It's like something you _really_ don't wanna talk about. Like, at _all,_ even if everyone else wants to know?" Beetlejuice asks, picking at the thread on the rug.

"Nobody can force y- um, anyone to talk about anything they don't want to. It would be- um, good to try and share as much as you're comfortable with, but we have to respect each other's boundaries." There it is again, _boundaries_. He still doesn't _quite_ get it. "I'll add that to the board!"

"No shouting," he says before he loses the confidence to. 

"Beej, I don't know what you think the purpose of this conversation is, but nobody- there's not gonna be any shouting," Adam says, voice serious but still gentle. Beetlejuice just insistently stares at Barbara until she writes it on the board. "Do you have any other rules you want to add?"

If he had the choice, he'd add _no asking Beetlejuice any questions_ , but he can't write his own name and he figures they'll call that counterproductive. So he shrugs, shakes his head and carries on picking at the threads of the edge of the rug. He's still not really even sure what they want to know. "So, uh. Whaddya wanna know?"

Barbara nudges Adam's knee and he clears his throat, probably looking over at him (though he can't say for sure because he's determined to avoid as much eye contact as possible.) "I- it's just, sorry, I have to ask. I have to know. Have you ever- before, have you ever done anything with us when you haven't wanted to? Anything- anything sexual, I mean." 

"No," he says, and it's truthful. "I do really like sex with you guys. Yesterday was just like, right after I had a massive argument with Lyds."

"So- so, other than yesterday, you don't feel like we've ever pressured you-"

"Adam," he says, pulling the thread out of the rug completely. "You guys are like the softest people I've ever met. You've _never_ made me do something I don't wanna do, other than like, shower. You didn't _make_ me do anything yesterday."

"So, I have the understanding that until yesterday, you thought that sex was, um. A given, with you?" Barbara prompts, tapping her fingers against the wood floor nervously when he just shrugs. "Obviously, we won't make you, but. Did you wanna tell us about your mom, at all?"

Beetlejuice feels his head start to get hot. No, not really, not at all. But when he spoke to Delia about it, even though it made it more real, it kind of made it- not better, but more manageable. Now that someone knows about it, he can talk about it without having to tell anyone new. And the thought of having that with Adam and Barbara makes all of this feel a bit less overwhelming. Maybe he doesn't want to tell them, but he wants them to know. "I dunno what you want me to say. I was doing it for as young as I can remember, but I didn't really get what it was until I moved out." From the way they're both sitting, watching with apt attention, he guesses that's not enough. "I don't really remember most of it- I had like, a dream about it when I fell asleep on the couch, but other than that it's super blurry."

Adam opens his mouth as if to speak but Barbara squeezes his knee, reaching for Beetlejuice's hand. "I don't think that remembering every little detail is going to be helpful- unless you _want_ to talk about it with us. What I think is really important is establishing that our relationship is not and will _never_ be like that. Even if you think you should say yes, we are asking you to tell us whenever you don't want to."

" _Whenever_. Whether it's both of us, one of us, whether it's beforehand or if you change your mind halfway through-"

"Woah, you can do that?" 

Again, they're giving him that _look_ , the one that means he's said something stupid. "Absolutely," Adam says after a second, seeming earnest. "It's so important that you do."

"But- like, you've already agreed. I get the whole- the whole _consent_ thingy, I just thought it was different for me. You're telling me that even if everything is in full swing, if I'm not having a good time I'm allowed to stop?"

"Beej, _yes-_ "

"See, you're looking at me and speaking to me like I'm stupid, and I'm not. I don't know what I'm supposed to think when every time I've _tried_ to stop someone's hit me or kicked me or stabbed me or-"

"Hey," Barbara cuts in, and he realises he's crying again. Fuck. "I'm sorry. I'm looking at you like this because I'm shocked you don't know any of this- _not_ because you're stupid, honey. Because I can't-" and she pauses, takes a deep breath. He's never, ever heard her voice shake like this. "I cannot _believe_ someone would treat their own child like this."

"Barbara's right- for you to feel like you're in the wrong here at _all_ is not what we want. We just want to have some kind of a grasp over- over everything, really. We need to find out what your- what Juno taught you about all these things so that we can help you, uh. Unlearn them, if you will."

They let him sit there for a minute, trying to stop his lip from trembling. "So-" he tries, stopping because he can't keep speaking when his voice sounds so pathetic. "So what happened... wasn't okay? Like. At all?"

Honestly, part of him wants them to lie. The feeling in his stomach is the answer, he doesn't need to hear them say _no, it wasn't okay,_ but the weight of hearing that is too much. If they lie, just say _it was fine, let's move on_ then he doesn't have to _deal_ with it.

"No, sweetheart. But what's much more important for you to recognise is that **none** of this is your fault."

"Unrealistic," he quips in a failed attempt to deflect the statement. "I mean-sure, my mom was the one who set it all up and told me it was normal, but like. I've been an adult for hundreds of years and still all this time-"

"All this time you were acting on the beliefs your mom instilled in you," Adam interrupts, and for some reason this is what sets him off. The final acknowledgement of how _wrong_ it was and how wrong she was to do that to him, that somehow it isn't his fault at all. Beetlejuice doesn't completely believe it, but he's almost certain Adam wouldn't lie to him. Besides, even though his chest aches and his head is spinning, there's some kind of deeper sense of relief when he starts sobbing into Adam's chest, Barbara stroking his hair and pressing kisses to his head. "It's okay," Adam is murmuring, holding him as he cries. "I promise we won't let anyone hurt you again."

How long they sit there, he's not sure - at some point Barbara leaves and comes back with some warm mugs of coffee, but Adam sits with him until he calms down, only stopping crying when his body forces him to. They drink the coffee in silence too, but it's a different silence. Something more balanced, easy. Beetlejuice kind of feels at peace in a way he hasn't really felt before. "You feel up to eating dinner, honey? I think they ordered enough for us, but I can always tell them we aren't hungry."

"I wanna eat," he says. Really, he could give or take eating, but he wants to sit with Lydia, because that always makes everything okay for a little bit. "Is it here already?"

"They'd just ordered as I was making coffee, so it should be here soon. We could go watch TV with everyone while we wait?" she suggests, and his heart aches for today to not have happened, to not have found out any of this and just have spent the day listening to the TV. 

But, he thinks as they both smile at him warmly, that's not really a possibility. And hey, this isn't really _ideal._ Obviously. Maybe it's not as bad as it could be, having these two with him. "Sure." 

Packing six people into a living room meant for three isn't easy, but it means Adam and Barbara are pressed up against each side and Lydia is sat on her knees by his feet. Every time he says something annoying, she bumps his knees with her head and glares up at him, but she's almost always laughing. 

After everything, Beetlejuice is glad he ended up here.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading! check out the post that inspired this fic! https://put-a-lil-alright-in-the-world.tumblr.com/post/615887364979654656/hey-so-ive-been-hella-busy-with-school-stuffs
> 
> check out my tumblr! https://bi-tlejuice.tumblr.com
> 
> leave some feedback!


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